Method of making signs



' 1 4' oct. 25,1927. A. E. VAUGHN ,6` 6,565

METHOD OF MAKING SIGNS Fild June 21. 1926 fini.

- A ALBERT E. K11/@HN @Hoz ne tlf tion to the letters.

Patented ct. 25,' 192'?.

Uhuru rare rice.

METHOD or MAKING sIGNs.

Application led June 21,

My invention relates to4 painted or lacquered signs, a purpose of my invention be- 'ing the provision of an extreme-ly simple,A

rapid and inexpensive method of making painted or lacquered signs by which characters and backgrounds of an color combination can be produced.' Mly method is particularly adapted, although not necessarily, for making all lacquered signs, the durability of which over painted signs and the relatively low cost thereof as against baked enamel signs is well recognized by those skilled in the art, but the making of which has never been accomplished heretofore with any degree of commercial success.

I. will describe only one method of making signs embodying my invention and will then point out the novel features thereof in claims.

In the accompanying drawings,

Figures l, 2 and 3 are views showing in plan a sign board and illustrating the several steps of the method embodying my invention necessary to the making of a sign.

In carrying out my invention I provide aT sign board 15 formed of suitable material such as sheet metal and uponone surface of which is applied the coats of paint or lacquer necessary to the making of 'a sign. rl`he first step in the method is to cover the surface with a coat of paint or lacquer of any desired color 'to form a background 16.V

By scribing lines on the background after it is dry, characters 17 of any kind, such as letters L and T, can vbe blocked or outlined 011 the background, together with a rectangular border 18 formed in surrounding rela- I.f it is desired to color the background dierent from the letters and border, a suitable masking paste 19 41S applied to the letters and border to completely cover them, as illustrated inI Figure 1. The character of the masking paste is such as to be impervious to paint or lacquer and very slow to dry in order that it may retain its pasty state to permit removal thereof from the surface when desired.

Having applied the masking paste as described, the next step is to apply paint or lacquer of the desired color for the background and preferably through the medium of an air brush,'so as to completely cover the entire surface of the board, as illustrated in Figure 2. In applying the paint or lacquer 1n. this manner, it is directly applied to the background surface, but superimposed 1926. Serial N0. 117,417.

on the masking pasteso that it cannot adhere to the surface of the letters and border. After the paint or lacquer has dried (in the case of lacquer the drying is very rapid) the masking paste is now wiped Afrom the surface of the board, as illustrated in Figure 3, and as that portion of the paint or lacquer covering the lettersand border is superimposed on the masking paste it will be clear that as the result of the wiping operation the paint or lacquer is removed from the letters and border, leaving the dried paint or lacquer on'the background surface.

quered in one color while the letters and border are painted or lacquered'in another color.

A suitable masking paste for use .in connection with my improved method may be constituted as follows: Glycerine, one and one-half parts, glucose one-half part, litho- In this y manner, the background is 'painted or lacpone three parts, graphite one and one-half parts, and water one-half part. The glycerine is added for the purpose of maintaining a state of fluidity, the glucose for the pur` pose of lending viscosity to the mixture, the lithopone constitutes the body, the graphite lends color, and the water serves to reduce the mixture to a proper consistency. To the above elements I may also add any suitable emulsion which will facilitate the application of the mixture to'a surfaceby means of a brush.

It will, of course, be understood that the method` just described is capable of adaptation to the making of letters and a border of a color different from the original color of the background, and that the background is permitted to maintain its original color. This can be readil accomplishedV by covering' the backgroun with the. masking paste, so as to leave the letters and border exposed for the direct application of paint or lacquer thereto so that when the masking pas'te is removed the aint'or lacquer will be removed only from tliie'background and not from the letters and border.

The method practised as described permits the formation ofan all-lacquer sign in which the letters or the characters and backgroundl can be formed rapidly, symmetrically and with a uniform distribution of lacquer to' I Should the masking paste not be uniformly distributed over the surface of the signboard so as to produce thin spots therein,

there is a possibility of the paint or lacquerl penetrating the masking paste and thus adering to the background. I overcome this objection by spraying powdered aluminum or other suitable material on the paste before applying the paint or lacquer, thus forming a metal coat which revents the paint or lacquer penetrating t e aste and thus insures ready removal of t e paint or lacquer when desired.

From the foregoing description, taken in conjunction with the accompanying drawings, it will be manifest that I have provided a method of making signs which essentially consists in the successive application to a surface of coats of paint or lacquerl 'of different colors 1n a manner to permit each coat to dry before applying the next tions of each paint or lacquer coat are caused to adhere to the sign surface in the production of sign characters and a background of different colors;

Although I have herein shown and described nlyuone method of making signs embodying my invention, it is to be understood that various changes and modifica-- tions may be made therein Without departing from the spirit ofthe invention andthe spirit4 and scope of the appended claims.

I claim as my invention:

1. A method of making signs which consists in covering a surface With a background of a given color, superposing characters on the background formed of a slow drying masking paste which is impervious to paint after the background color is dry, thereafter super-posing a coating of paint on the background and characters, allowing kt-he {ina-1 coat of paint to dry, and finally removing the masking paste for providing characters of the color previously obscured by the paste.

2. VThe method of making signs which consists in coating a. surface with a lacquer' of a given color to provide a background, alloW- ing the background color` to dry,

characters on the background with drying masking paste, which is' impervious to lacquer', coating the background and char` acters with lacquer, allowing the vfinal coat of/lacquer to dry, and finally removing the masking paste for providing characters of the colors previously obscured by the paste.

ALBERT E. VAUGHN.`

painting a sloW- 

